Mis Vacaciones Divertidas

I got back from my adventure vacation almost 2 weeks ago, and immediately jumped right back to work. It was almost like I could have used a vacation from my vacation before starting back up again. It was really something...definitely not like any other vacation experience I've had. Here's the week in a nutshell: Jess and waited at the bus station in Juticalpa for a bus to Tegucigalpa for about an hour early Saturday morning. The ride to Tegus is about 3 1/2 hours. Then almost immediately we went to the bus station in Tegus and waited about 1 1/2 for a bus to San Pedro Sula. That ride took almost 5 hours total. The "budget" hotel we had booked we stayed in for about 15 minutes total. After determining that the ac we payed for in the room was blowing warm air, and that there were GINORMOUS cockroach antennae sticking out from the sink, wiggling around, we decided we couldn't stay there. So we moved up to a "midrange" hotel that was like a whole nother world. The next morning we went to the airport to pick up Jess's friend Lauren. Then we immediately went to the bus station to find a bus to Tela. We probably waited about 3 hours in line to actually get on the bus, in scorching heat, but once we did the ride was only about 1 1/2. In Tela we went on a fantastic tour that took us by boat to Punta Sal, a gorgeous beach where no one lives except a family in a hut that cooks for the tourists. There we took a mini hike and saw some howler monkeys and huge spiders and really neat flowers and trees. We did a little snorkeling, ate an entire fish (eye and all) and got majorly sunburned (but later tanned!) laying out on the beach. Later on that day we got on another bus - which we waited for on the side of the road at gas station - that took us to La Ceiba, the third largest city in Honduras, and the place to be during vacations. We enjoyed the night there, with places and events to choose from to occupy ourselves. The next day we took a scenic cab ride up the mountain and into Parque Pico Bonito. We stayed at an incredibly designed jungle lodge with a pool and hammocks and an outdoor shower made of stone and really fun hiking trails. Our second day there we went white water rafting, where our tour guide made fun of us for being so terrible (all in good fun). By the end of the river though we were pros, falling out of the raft at a much lower frequency. The next day we went all the way back to San Pedro Sula where we mostly chilled out for the next day and a half. The country sort of shuts down on Good Friday so we had to make sure we were back in San Pedro so Lauren could catch her flight home Saturday morning. Carlos and Colleen had met up with us in San Pedro and Carlos drove us to Puerto Cortes where we had a very different beach experience. Herds and herds of people everywhere, and hardly any actual beach area, mostly just a dock and water. We didn't stay very long before deciding to head over to Lago Yojoa where we had a cabin reserved for two nights. It was a very chill, peaceful place with lots of volunteers and back-packers. It was in the town the lake was in, Pina Blanca, that we had some adventures. Our second day there we set out in foot to do a little exploring, and to try to find somewhere to get a good view of the lake. We ended up taking a jalon (which essentially is hitch-hiking - you wave someone to pull over and hop in the back of their truck if they're going in the direction you want to go - but it's very common and safe here) into town, then a 13-year-old hoped out of van without a door which apparently was some type of bus service because he ushered us and other people in for 6 lmps each (about $0.33) and took us to the lake. The next day was even funnier transportation. We had to stand around on the road and guess which school bus to get on to take us to a town to wait for another school bus to take us to Tegus. These school buses are called "chicken buses" because quite literally you can take your chickens, or whatever else you have with you on them. We were on this bus, packed with people standing in the aisles the whole time, for about 2 1/2 hours I'd say. Colleen and I witnessed a little girl in the seat across from us puke in a bag and then just hold on to it till we got off. Quite the experience. Anyways it was a fabulous trip. And certainly cheap enough. Definitely not something I'm going to forget any time soon.